Remember the greediest! Former Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’ could not even wait a year before working for foreign nationals. Violation of post-employment restrictions in federal law? Former Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is married to Dexter Wayne Lehtinen, the former InterimUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida.
Oh, my achin' Gump!
From Miami Herald:
Watchdog group says Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s Hong Kong lobbying broke the law
BY ALEX DAUGHERTY
MARCH 06, 2020 11:43 AM
U.S. Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen gives statements regarding her leaving Congress during her press conference. BY CARL JUSTE
WASHINGTON
A Washington-based advocacy group filed a complaint with the Justice Department on Friday alleging that former Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen broke the law when she signed on as a consultant for the Hong Kong government during her one-year lobbying ban after she left office.
In April 2019, Ros-Lehtinen was named a “team leader” for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council as part of her work with Washington-based firm Akin Gump, according to a filing under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
Ros-Lehtinen retired from Congress in January 2019 and was barred from lobbying Congress for one year. The one-year lobbying ban also includes a blanket ban on any work for a foreign government for at least a year.
The Campaign Legal Center, an advocacy group that seeks to limit the influence of money in politics, wants the Justice Department to open an investigation into Ros-Lehtinen’s Hong Kong work to determine if she violated the law.
“Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s decision to work as a lobbying consultant for a foreign government just months after leaving office violates the post-employment restrictions that protect the integrity of public service,” the center said in its complaint. “Members of Congress are not allowed to leverage the information and relationships they gained during public service for the benefit of foreign governments for a year after leaving Congress, even if they provide assistance to those governments behind the scenes.”
Akin Gump said in a statement that Ros-Lehtinen’s work was legal because she did not work for Hong Kong until January 2020, when her one-year lobbying ban expired.
“As clearly stated in our public filing with the Department of Justice, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen would not conduct any representation on behalf of the HKTDC until after her restricted period,” Akin Gump spokesperson Benjamin Harris said in a statement. “She conducted no activity during that restricted period and to date has not performed any [Foreign Agents Registration Act] activity on behalf of the HKTDC.”
Ros-Lehtinen, a paid monthly columnist for the Miami Herald, did not respond to a request for comment.
Brendan Fischer, the Campaign Legal Center’s director for campaign finance and government ethics, said the filing by Akin Gump shows that Ros-Lehtinen “did some kind of behind the scenes work.”
Work that doesn’t involve direct lobbying, like consulting or advising, is often a way for members of Congress to influence Capitol Hill without violating the law during their lobbying ban, but behind the scenes work is not allowed when the client is a foreign government entity.
“That does appear to be the concern, that Ros-Lehtinen is leveraging her public service for foreign lobbying clients and doing so months after leaving office,” Fischer said.
Fischer also questioned Akin Gump’s explanation that Ros-Lehtinen did zero work for nine months of a 12-month, $429,300 contract.
“If Ros-Lehtinen was genuinely doing nothing for nine out of the 12 months of that contract, why was she on the contract at all and why was Hong Kong paying her?” Fischer asked.
The Daily Beast first reported on Ros-Lehtinen’s Hong Kong work in January, when she filed as a foreign agent.
Ros-Lehtinen’s decades of experience on Capitol Hill and her work leading the House Foreign Relations Committee makes her a valuable resource for foreign clients who want to influence legislation.
Akin Gump’s agreement with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council says Ros-Lehtinen’s work would “protect, promote and develop the interests of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” and “prevent or minimize any negative, impact that action taken by the. U.S., including action against Hong Kong’s major trading partners, may have on the economic well-being of Hong Kong.”
Ros-Lehtinen also registered as a foreign agent for the United Arab Emirates in January, despite country’s connections to investment firms that helped finance Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro by buying Venezuelan gold in exchange for cash. Ros-Lehtinen was a well-known Maduro critic in Congress who criticized U.S. firms for buying Venezuelan oil bonds during the country’s ongoing humanitarian crisis.
The Campaign Legal Center filed a similar complaint in 2019 against former Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, who registered as a foreign agent for Qatar in July 2017, despite retiring from Congress in January 2017. The Campaign Legal Center argued that Miller’s filing violated the one-year lobbying ban and requested a Justice Department investigation into Miller’s work for Qatar. Fischer said the Campaign Legal Center hasn’t received a response from the Justice Department on Miller’s conduct.
Fischer said Ros-Lehtinen’s activities during her lobbying ban also raise the concern that lawmakers would base their activities while in office on the prospect of future payments that surpass the $174,000 yearly salary for members of Congress.
“After Ros-Lehtinen left Congress, she was legally prohibited to lobby on Hong Kong’s behalf for one year, but she didn’t wait that long,” Fischer said.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former member of Congress representing South Florida, assisted a businessman in his dispute with Honduras when she was a lawmaker. Now the firm she works for is being paid by the businessman to represent his interests.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former member of Congress representing South Florida, assisted a businessman in his dispute with Honduras when she was a lawmaker. Now the firm she works for is being paid by the businessman to represent his interests.
ALEX DAUGHERTY
202-383-6049
Alex Daugherty is the Washington correspondent for the Miami Herald, covering South Florida from the nation’s capital. Previously, he worked as the Washington correspondent for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and for the Herald covering politics in Miami.
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, former member of Congress representing South Florida, assisted a businessman in his dispute with Honduras when she was a lawmaker. Now the firm she works for is being paid by the businessman to represent his interests. CNN EN ESPAÑOL
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